Schizophrenia: Understanding Schizophrenia, and how it can be managed, treated, and improved

By Ross Wilson

SCHIZOPHRENIA

This book covers the topic of Schizophrenia, and will explain exactly what Schizophrenia is, how it’s diagnosed, and how it can be treated and managed. Inside, you will learn about the different signs and symptoms of Schizophrenia, how it's diagnosed, and how it can be treated. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ingram Publishing
• Release date: Dec 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9781761031625

Book preview

Introduction

Thank you for taking the time to read this book on Schizophrenia!

This book covers the topic of Schizophrenia, and will explain exactly what Schizophrenia is, how it’s diagnosed, and how it can be treated and managed.

Whether you personally suffer from Schizophrenia, or if a loved one does, it can be a difficult thing to live with. This book aims to educate you on Schizophrenia and provide you with a range of practical strategies for coping with the associated symptoms and issues that you are sure to encounter.

Keep in mind that this book should not be taken as medical advice. Always consult with a medical professional before self-diagnosing or undertaking any form of treatment.

Once again, thanks for choosing this book, I hope you find it to be helpful!

Chapter 1: A Short History of Schizophrenia

There was a time in history when people only saw two types of madness. The first was described as an extreme manifestation of mania and depression, and the second one was a more generalized display of deteriorating behavior. In 1852, Benedict Morel, a Belgian psychiatrist, named the second type of madness as ‘dementia praecox’ – Latin for ‘premature mental deterioration.’

During that time, such deterioration manifested itself during adolescence or early adulthood. By the early 20th century, the German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin had shed more insights into the condition. In 1911, a Swiss psychiatrist named Eugene Bleuler claimed that the term ‘dementia praecox’ does not accurately describe such condition. He pointed out two things.

First, he said that the disorder was not always premature. And second, most individuals who had the disorder did not always enter a state of complete mental deterioration. He then proposed a new term for the disorder: Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is named from the Greek words ‘schizein’ and ‘phren’ which mean ‘to split’ and ‘mind,’ respectively. The early definition of schizophrenia then literally translated to ‘the fragmentation of psychological functioning. As Bleuler noted, for schizophrenics, ‘the personality loses its unity.’

Chapter 2: Schizophrenia: A Psychotic Disorder

The need to distinguish between psychotic and non-psychotic disorders is important not only for the purpose of accurate assessment, but also for implementing the accurate therapeutic approach. Hence, it is important to note that schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder. This means that it is a disorder relating to the mind. To further explain, let’s take a look at the criteria that constitute psychotic behavior.

Loss of Contact with Reality

A person with psychotic symptoms regresses to an earlier state of symbiosis. Hence, his or her relationship with other individuals is affected. This can be seen through the distortion of the subject-object relationship where a person loses contact with objective reality. Thus, a person with psychotic symptoms creates a world that is only real to him or her. At worst, a person may experience difficulty in terms of time and place orientation.

Affect Disturbances

In the psychological and medical context, ‘affect’ is a term used to describe feelings or emotions. For psychotic individuals, their affect can fall into extremes: they can be emotionally impulsive, or they can be totally non-responsive. However, some people who are experiencing an emotional disturbance can also display another problem in affect: inappropriate emotional response. This can be seen in a condition called ‘parathymia’ where the emotional reaction is the opposite of the stimuli.

Delusions

A person with psychotic symptoms may tend to exhibit disbelief in reality despite being presented with evidence that proves the contrary. To specify, delusions vary in form and in content, such as self-destructive delusions, paranoia, and self-enhancing delusions. On one hand, individuals who exhibit psychotic symptoms may feel worthless or persecuted. On the other hand, they may exhibit delusions of grandeur.

Disturbances in Verbal Communication

Since a person with psychotic symptoms lacks contact with reality, the way he or she expresses themselves is highly personalized. This high personalization tends to gravitate more towards expression rather than communication. To illustrate, a psychotic person may display incoherence, neologism